Keyboard musical instrument

ABSTRACT

An action mechanism  1  inside a keyboard musical instrument of the present invention is the jumping-up style, and has a configuration in which a beak-like projecting piece  19  is protrudingly provided in a base end portion of a hammer body  9,  an engaging stepped portion  31  is formed in an escapement member  11  that is always biased toward the beak-like projecting piece  19  of the hammer body  9 , a pivotally attached portion of the hammer body  9  pivots in the striking direction in accordance with a striking operation, and at the same time, the beak-like projecting piece  19  and the engaging stepped portion  31  engage, and the hammer body  9  performs a striking pivotal operation against a sound source body  7.  Then, in at least one of the base end portion of the hammer body  9  and the escapement member  11,  there is provided a pushing-out member  21  for pushing out the escapement member  11  in the opposite side with respect to the hammer body  9  to let off the beak-like projecting piece  19  from the engaging stepped portion  31,  and at the same time, a control member  33  for separating the hammer body  9  from the sound source body  7  to stop it in the state in which the beak-like projecting piece  19  is let off from the engaging stepped portion  31  is integrally formed in the escapement member  11.  Further, the control member may be provided in a fixed portion without integrally forming with the escapement member  11.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to a keyboard musical instrument forstriking a sound generating body in response to key striking operationon a keyboard portion, and is particularly preferable when applied to akeyboard musical instrument having an action mechanism called thejumping-up style.

BACKGROUND ART

Currently, action mechanisms of the same style are mounted in keyboardmusical instruments for performing a hammer action, such as a piano,although the action mechanisms are somewhat different from one keyboardmusical instrument to another concerning a standard. That is, an Englishstyle action mechanism called the pushing-up style is employed in amodern piano.

However, in the nineteenth century, an action mechanism of the Germanstyle or the Viennese style called the jumping-up style was widely knownas other mechanisms aside from this pushing-up style. Such a mechanismin the past, the historical transition of the jumping-up style to bedescribed later, and the like are discussed in a book entitled “VomHammer” written by Walter Pfeiffer and published in 1979 (thirdedition). Further, the inventor of the present invention was interestedin a keyboard musical instrument of this style and was inspired to startthe manufacture of such a keyboard musical instrument by seeingphotographs of a musical instrument Orphica, before confirming thecontents of this book (approximately fifteen years ago).

Basic characteristics of this jumping-up style is that a rotationalcentral axis of a hammer is attached to a key. The most importantprogress in an action mechanism of this jumping-up style was made in theeighteenth century. That is, Johann Andoreas Stein (1728 to 1792)devised excellent touch of playing by mounting tongue-like componentsindependent for each key instead of parts to which beak-like protrusionsof hammers existing in the rearward of keys that were arranged in afixed rail shape hook on. This was the most important advance of thejumping-up style action mechanism, and determined the jumping-up styleaction mechanism.

The Stein's action mechanism did not have a back-check (an objectserving to stop the motion of a hammer that strikes a string and jumpsback after striking the string). However, it may be considered that itwas Stein's achievement to have created the basic form of the Germanstyle action mechanism and have determined a final form of an actionmechanism that is hard to jump.

The world famous Viennese style action mechanism was taken over byNanette who was Stein's daughter, and by her husband Johann AndoreasStreicher who was a manufacturer of keyboard musical instruments, andits originality was further developed. Therefore, the action mechanismwas called the Viennese style instead of the German style when Stein'sdaughter Nanette got married to the Viennese man, and the actionmechanism is often written as “the German Viennese style actionmechanism” because both the German and Viennese styles have the sameroots.

The improvement of Stein's style having the tongue-like componentsindependent for each key (see, for example, FIG. 31) has very lighttouch (feeling of play), does not cause any sense of increased pressureby let-off (motion or function for separating the motion of a key andthe motion of a hammer before the hammer and a string collide with eachother) to a player, and is easy to repeat striking keys. A key has thedepth of approximately 6 millimeters and the heaviness (a value in gramsat which a key is depressed) of 30 grams in bass range and 20 grams intreble range.

On the other hand, when a key is depressed, a current piano experiencesincrease of relatively large resistance, i.e., force of a key to pushback at the time of let-off. The depth of a key is 9.5 to 10millimeters. A grand piano of Steinway is a typical one of the fewpianos whose heaviness of a key is low at approximately 47 grams inaverage.

Although such an improvement was added to the jumping-up style actionmechanism, the trend of the world was in favor of the pushing-up style.This is because a decisive improvement, which is now practical, wasadded to the English style action mechanism which is a pushing-up style.That is the repetition action mechanism, which was invented in 1821 andthen was evolved into the current grand piano action mechanism byfurther improvement in 1840.

A piano action cannot be prepared for the next string striking unless akey rises to “a certain height” by a performer lifting a finger afterthe key is depressed to generate sound (a string is struck) once. Therepetition action mechanism is a mechanism that is devised such that “acertain height” required for preparation of string striking is as low aspossible. With this mechanism, the function of repeated striking (tomake repeated striking easy) can be improved.

As far as the inventor of the present invention knows, upright pianosexcept limited models of two manufacturing companies in the world do nothave this function. Therefore, this function is a point for comparingperformability of an upright piano and a grand piano. This is called“Kurzhubwerk” in German, which means “the lifting height loweringfunction”.

Moreover, the jumping-up style (the Vienna style) action mechanism had acritical structural problem. The inventor of the present invention alsonoticed the problem when the inventor tried to manufacture a keyboardmusical instrument once approximately fifteen years ago, but did notnotice that this problem is discussed in the literature “Vom Hammer”until recently. The structural problem that the Vienna style actionmechanism has is namely that the rotational central axis of a hammerportion shifts in accordance with the movement of a key. This causesinconveniences described below.

Usually, it is common to assume the state in which a key is depressed tothe lowest point when a string is struck, but a different state may beassumed, for example, a state in which a string is struck by instantlyhitting a key with strong force. In other words, this state correspondsto staccato of forte.

In this case, although a hammer jumps up by the reaction of instant hitof a key with strong force to strike a string, the key is not in a statethat it is fully depressed to the lowest point, but is somewhere on itsway to the lowest point. In the Vienna style action mechanism, since therotational central axis of the hammer is attached to the key, theposition of the rotational central axis of the hammer at that time is inthe position lower than the state where the key depressed is to thelowest point. As a result, since the positions of the rotational centralaxis of the hammer are different respectively in each of theabove-mentioned two states, the hammer reaches the string formingdifferent tracks in each state, and parts of the hammer head contactingthe string are also different respectively.

Since a dislocation of the string striking point (the point where thehammer head contacts the string) arises in the longitudinal directionviewed from a performer, if strings are stretched in rows to cross thedirection to which keys extend, the hammer not only does not strike anaimed string but may strike another string or a plurality of unnecessarystrings of different sounds simultaneously. In addition, in the hammerside, since the large area of the hammer head contacts the strings atunspecified points, tones also become unstable and sound quality cannotbe adjusted.

A Vienna style action mechanism 373 that adopts the above-mentionedjumping-up style is illustrated in FIGS. 31 through 34. As shown in FIG.31, a keyboard body 305 having a keyboard portion (not shown) in theright side (in the figure) is swingably held by a pin 313 and a pedestal315. A supporting pole 375 is provided at the other end portion of thekeyboard body 305, and a base portion of a hammer body 377 is pivotallysupported by a rotational central axis 378 at the top end of thesupporting pole 375 to strike a string 307.

A beak-like projecting piece 379 is mounted on the base end portion ofthe hammer body 377. An engaging stepped portion 383 is formed in anescapement member 381 that is always biased toward this beak-likeprojecting piece 379 of the hammer body 377 by a spring bar 380. On theother hand, a back-check 389 is mounted on a frame 385 along therotational track of the hammer portion 387 of the hammer body 377, and asliding member such as leather is stuck on the surface of the back-check389.

In a performance, as shown in FIGS. 32 and 33, the supporting pole 375in the other end of the keyboard body 305 rises toward the string 307,and at the same time, the beak-like projecting piece 379 of the hammerbody 377 and the engaging stepped portion 383 of the escapement member381 are engaged, in accordance with the key striking operation of thekeyboard portion. In this way, the hammer body 377 performs a strikingpivotal operation against the string 307.

The engagement of the beak-line projecting piece 379 of the hammer body377 and the engaging stepped portion 383 of the escapement member 381 isdesigned to be let off as shown in FIG. 33 immediately before thestriking operation of the hammer body 377. The timing of this let-offcan be adjusted exactly by an adjustment screw 391. When the performersets the keyboard portion free, the let off beak-like projecting piece379 descends while sliding against a return sliding surface 393 of theescapement member 381 as shown in FIG. 34, and returns to the stateshown in FIG. 31. In addition, a hammer body 377, after striking thestring 307, is caused to return in the direction of its originalposition by strong repulsion of the string 307, but the force of themovement is reduced by sliding friction between the hammer portion 387of the hammer body 377 and the back-check 389, and the hammer body 377stops. Therefore, the hammer body 377 does not rebound to strike thestring 307 again.

The let-off of the Viennese style action mechanism 371 utilizes theshift of the rotational central axis 378 of the hammer body 377 in thelongitudinal direction viewed from the performer by swinging movement ofthe keyboard body 305. That is, let-off is effected when the top end ofthe beak-like projecting piece 379 in the opposite side of the hammerportion 387 moves as if it is pulled out from the escapement member 381,by depressing the keyboard portion.

Therefore, the more a reliable movement of let-off is desired, thelonger the shifting distance of the rotational central axis 378 must bemade by separating the rotational central axis 378 from the keyboardbody 305 and placing it in a higher position. In addition, since theback-check 389 is required to be placed correspondingly in a higherposition as well, it is hard to design the action mechanism 373 to below in height. Further, since it is necessary to provide the back-check389 and to adjust its condition of striking, there is also a problemthat the number of components and the number of assembly steps are many.

Moreover, in the conventional Vienna style action mechanism 373, sincethe entire action mechanism 373 protrudes to the other side of thekeyboard portion by the length L (see FIG. 31) that includes the partfrom the striking point of the hammer portion 387 of the hammer body 377to the mounting positions of the hammer body 377 and the escapementmember 381, it is hard to design the entire keyboard musical instrumentto be shallow in depth. In addition, when the hammer body 377 is larger,the rotational central axis 378 of the hammer body 377 must be placed ina higher position, which, on the other hand, results in largerdislocation of a string striking point on the hammer portion 387.

DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION

The present invention has been devised for the purpose of solving theseproblems, and it is an object of the present invention to provide ajumping-up style keyboard musical instruments that can be designed lowerin height and shallower in depth while restraining a dislocation of astring striking point and has a fewer number of components and a fewernumber of assembly steps. It is another object of the present inventionto provide a jumping-up style keyboard musical instrument that can beplayed in a tilted state in as standing play.

In line with these objects, the inventor of the present inventionstarted the second challenge concerning the manufacture of a keyboardmusical instrument approximately three years ago. Then, a first trialproduct that had good appearance (function) as a musical instrument wascompleted in March 1998. Thereafter, it was confirmed by an actionanalysis of a third trial product by a personal computer that it isdifficult to alter the dimensions of major parts such as an engagingportion of a hammer body and an escapement member. Currently, a fifthtrial product is being manufactured. Under such circumstances, thisapplication is filed in order to protect novel mechanisms whoseperformances have been confirmed.

The present invention provides a keyboard musical instrument with aconfiguration in which a middle part in the longitudinal direction of akeyboard body having a keyboard portion at its one end is swingably heldand, at the same time, a base of a hammer body for striking is pivotallyattached to the opposite side of the keyboard portion across the holdingpoint of the keyboard body; a beak-like projecting piece is protrudinglyprovided in a base end of the hammer body and, at the same time, anengaging stepped portion is formed in an escapement member that isalways biased toward the beak-like projecting piece of the hammer body;the pivotally attached portion of the hammer body pivots in accordancewith a key striking operation of the keyboard portion and, at the sametime, the beak-like projecting piece of the hammer body and the engagingstepped portion of the escapement member engage; and the hammer bodyperforms a striking pivotal operation against a sound source body. Inthis way, since the base of the hammer body is pivotally mounted on thekeyboard body directly, a dislocation of a striking point can becontrolled and, at the same time, the height of an action mechanism canbe made low.

In addition, the present invention provides, in at least one of the baseend of the hammer body and the escapement member, a pushing-out memberfor pushing out the escapement member to the opposite side with respectto the hammer body in accordance with the striking pivotal operation ofthe hammer body to let off the beak-like piece of the hammer body fromthe engaging stepped portion and, at the same time, integrally forms inthe escapement member a control member contactably and separablyopposing the hammer body in the striking direction that separates thehammer body from the sound source body and stopping it in the state inwhich the beak-like projecting piece is let off from the engagingstepped portion.

In this way, since at least one of the base end of the hammer body andthe escapement member is provided with a pushing-out member for pushingout the escapement member to the opposite side in respect to the hammerbody to separate the projecting piece of the hammer body from theengaging stepped portion in accordance with a striking pivotal movementof the hammer body, the beak-like projecting piece can be forced toseparate from the engaging stepped portion of the escapement member.Therefore, since a member such as the supporting pole 375 for increasinga shifting component in the horizontal direction (the direction towardkeyboard portion) of the beak-like projecting piece 379 asconventionally required becomes unnecessary, the length of the keyboardbody can be designed short, the height of the action mechanism can bedesigned extremely low, and the depth extremely shallow.

In addition, since the control member is integrally formed in theescapement member for separably opposing the hammer body in the strikingdirection and separating the hammer body from the sound source body tostop in the state in which the beak-like projecting piece is separatedfrom the engaging stepped portion, the back-check 389 as required in theconventional art becomes unnecessary, and the number of components andthe number of assembly steps can be reduced. In addition, the height ofthe action mechanism portion can be made low.

A keyboard musical instrument in accordance with another inventioncomprises a keyboard body that has a keyboard portion in one end and isheld at the middle part in the longitudinal direction to be madeswingable; a hammer body having a hammer portion for striking that ispivotally fixed at its base in the opposite side of the keyboard portionacross the swinging central point of the keyboard body; and anescapement member always biased toward the hammer body, and is providedwith a projecting piece in the opposite side of the hammer portionacross the pivotal fulcrum of the hammer body; and an engaging steppedportion for engaging the projecting piece that is mounted in theescapement member, and the keyboard musical instrument is furtherconfigured such that the projecting piece of the hammer body and theengaging stepped portion of the escapement member are engaged and thehammer body performs a striking pivotal operation against the soundsource body when the pivotal fulcrum of the hammer body pivots in thestriking direction by a key striking operation of the keyboard portion,and at least one of the hammer body and the escapement member isprovided with a pushing-out member for pushing out the escapement memberto the opposite side with respect to the hammer body to separate theprojecting piece of the hammer body from the engaging stepped portion inaccordance with a striking pivotal movement of the hammer body.

In this way, since at least one of the base end of the hammer body andthe escapement member is provided with a pushing-out member for pushingout the escapement member to the opposite side with respect to thehammer body to separate the projecting piece of the hammer body from theengaging stepped portion in accordance with a striking pivotal movementof the hammer body, the projecting piece of the hammer body can beforced to be separated from the engaging stepped portion of theescapement member. Therefore, since a member such as the supporting pole375 for increasing a shifting component in the horizontal direction (thedirection toward keyboard portion) of the beak-like projecting piece 379as conventionally required is unnecessary or made smaller, and thelength of the keyboard body can be designed short, the height of theaction mechanism can be designed extremely low and the depth extremelyshallow.

Moreover, a keyboard musical instrument in accordance with anotherinvention has a keyboard portion in one end and is held at the middlepart in the longitudinal direction to be made swingable; a hammer bodyhaving a hammer portion for striking that is pivotally fixed at its basein the opposite side of the keyboard portion across the swinging centralpoint of the keyboard body and; an escapement member always biasedtoward the hammer body, and is provided with a projecting piece in theopposite side of the hammer portion across the pivotal fulcrum of thehammer body; and an engaging stepped portion for engaging the projectingpiece that is mounted in the escapement member, and the keyboard musicalinstrument is further configured such that the projecting piece of thehammer body and the engaging stepped portion of the escapement memberare engaged and the hammer body performs a striking pivotal operationagainst the sound source body when the pivotal fulcrum of the hammerbody pivots in the striking direction by a key striking operation of thekeyboard portion, and integrally forms in the escapement member acontrol member separably opposing the hammer body in the strikingdirection for separating the hammer body from the sound source body andstopping it in the state in which the beak-like projecting piece is letoff from the engaging stepped portion.

In this way, since the control member is integrally formed in theescapement member for separably opposing the hammer in the strikingdirection and separating the hammer body from the sound source body tostop it in the state in which the beak-like projecting piece isseparated from the engaging stepped portion, the back-check 389 asrequired in the conventional art becomes unnecessary and the number ofcomponents and the number of assembly steps can be reduced. In addition,the height of the action mechanism portion may be made low. Further, thepresent invention can also be applied to a jumping-up style keyboardmusical instrument with the conventional structure.

In addition, a keyboard musical instrument in accordance with anotherinvention has a keyboard body having a keyboard portion in one end andis held at the middle part in the longitudinal direction to be madeswingable; a hammer body having a hammer portion for striking that ispivotally fixed at its base in the opposite side of the keyboard portionacross the swinging central point of the keyboard body; and anescapement member always biased toward the hammer body, and is providedwith a projecting piece in the opposite side of the hammer portionacross the pivotal fulcrum of the hammer body; and an engaging steppedportion for engaging the projecting piece that is mounted in theescapement member, and the keyboard musical instrument is furtherconfigured such that the projecting piece of the hammer body and theengaging stepped portion of the escapement member are engaged and thehammer body performs a striking pivotal operation against the soundsource body when the pivotal fulcrum of the hammer body pivots in thestriking direction by a key striking operation of the keyboard portion,and a fixed member fixed in a base for holding the keyboard body isprovided with a control member separably opposing the hammer portion ofthe hammer body in the striking direction of the abutting the base end,separating the hammer body from the sound source body and stopping it inthe state in which the projecting piece is let off from the engagingstepped portion.

In this way, since the control member is provided in the fixed memberand moreover is abutting the base end of the hammer body, the escapementmember can be simplified and the control member can be smaller. Further,the present invention can also be applied to a jumping-up style musicalinstrument with the conventional structure.

In addition, a keyboard musical instrument in accordance with anotherinvention has a keyboard body having a keyboard portion in one end andis held at the middle part in the longitudinal direction to be madeswingable; a hammer body having a hammer portion for striking that ispivotally fixed at its base in the opposite side of the keyboard portionacross the swinging central point of the keyboard body; and anescapement member always biased toward the hammer body, and is providedwith a projecting piece in the opposite side of the hammer portionacross the pivotal fulcrum of the hammer body; and an engaging steppedportion for engaging the projecting piece that is mounted in theescapement member, and the keyboard musical instrument is furtherconfigured such that the projecting piece of the hammer body and theengaging stepped portion of the escapement member are engaged and thehammer body performs a striking pivotal operation against the soundsource body, when the pivotal fulcrum of the hammer body pivots in thestriking direction by a key striking operation of the keyboard portion,and a pushing out member for pushing out the escapement member to theopposite side with respect to the hammer body to separate the projectingpiece of the hammer body from the engaging stepped portion is formed ina shape projecting toward the sound source side with respect to anextended line of the arm portion of the hammer body.

In this way, since the pushing out member projects toward the stringside with respect to an extended line of the arm portion of the hammerbody, even in a case where the arm portion of the hammer body is formedshort, the escapement member is not made small but can be designed in asufficient size to perform an accurate operation, and can havedurability. Moreover, since the pivotal fulcrum of the hammer body canbe designed lower with respect to the pushing out member, the entirekeyboard musical instrument can be made more flat. Further, the presentinvention can also be applied to a jumping-up style musical instrumentwith the conventional structure.

Further, a keyboard musical instrument in accordance with anotherinvention has a keyboard body having a keyboard portion in one end andis held at the middle part in the longitudinal direction to be madeswingable; a hammer body having a hammer portion for striking that ispivotally fixed at its base in the opposite side of the keyboard portionacross the swinging central point of the keyboard body; and anescapement member always biased toward the hammer body, and is providedwith a projecting piece in the opposite side of the hammer portionacross the pivotal fulcrum of the hammer body; and an engaging steppedportion for engaging the projecting piece that is mounted in theescapement member, and the keyboard musical instrument is furtherconfigured such that the projecting piece of the hammer body and theengaging stepped portion of the escapement member are engaged and thehammer body performs a striking pivotal operation against the soundsource body when the pivotal fulcrum of the hammer body pivots in thestriking direction by a key striking operation of the keyboard portion,and a recessed portion is provided in the sound source body directionside of the engaging stepped portion of the escapement member, anoperation block is provided as if getting into the recessed portion, andan elastic member for always biasing the escapement member toward thesound source body direction is provided in the opposite side withrespect to the sound source body direction of the escapement member.

In this way, since the operation block is provided as if getting intothe recessed portion of the escapement member, and the elastic memberfor always biasing the escapement member in the sound source bodydirection is provided in the opposite side with respect to the soundsource body direction of the escapement member, even if the keyboardmusical instrument is played while being held in the player's arms(played while the player is standing), the hammer body does not becomeunsteady, and hence the hammer body never strikes the sound source bodyinadvertently. In addition, the lower surface of the recessed portionmay be made to function as a control member, in which case it is morepreferable in regards to repeated striking. Further, the presentinvention can also be applied to a jumping-up style musical instrumentwith the conventional structure.

In addition, a keyboard musical instrument in accordance with anotherinvention has a keyboard body having a keyboard portion in one end andis held at the middle part in the longitudinal direction to be madeswingable; a hammer body having a hammer portion for striking that ispivotally fixed at its base in the opposite side of the keyboard portionacross the swinging central point of the keyboard body and; anescapement member always biased toward the hammer body, and is providedwith a projecting piece in the opposite side of the hammer portionacross the pivotal fulcrum of the hammer body; and an engaging steppedportion for engaging the projecting piece that is mounted in theescapement member, and the keyboard musical instrument is furtherconfigured such that the projecting piece of the hammer body and theengaging stepped portion of the escapement member are engaged and thehammer body performs a striking pivotal operation against the soundsource body when the pivotal fulcrum of the hammer body pivots in thestriking direction by a key striking operation of the keyboard portion,and an elastic member for biasing the keyboard body to the opposite sidewith respect to the sound source body direction is provided. Therefore,the keyboard body never rises in any positional state, and standing playand the like are made possible. Further, the present invention can alsobe applied to a jumping-up style musical instrument with theconventional structure.

In addition, a keyboard musical instrument in accordance with anotherinvention has a keyboard body having a keyboard portion in one end andis held at the middle part in the longitudinal direction to be madeswingable; a hammer body having a hammer portion for striking that ispivotally fixed at its base in the opposite side of the keyboard portionacross the swinging central point of the keyboard body; and anescapement member always biased toward the hammer body, and is providedwith a projecting piece in the opposite side of the hammer portionacross the pivotal fulcrum of the hammer body; and an engaging steppedportion for engaging the projecting piece that is mounted in theescapement member, and the keyboard musical instrument is furtherconfigured such that the projecting piece of the hammer body and theengaging stepped portion of the escapement member are engaged and thehammer body performs a striking pivotal operation against the soundsource body, when the pivotal fulcrum of the hammer body pivots in thestriking direction by a key striking operation of the keyboard portion,and a structure for pivotally fixing the hammer body is provided withholes in the keyboard body and the base of the hammer body respectively,a screw union having a female screw inside is put in the holes, andscrew union having a male screw is incorporated from the surfaceopposite the surface on which the hammer body abuts the keyboard bodysuch that the screw union engages with the female screw.

With this structure, pivoting of the hammer body is made smooth andsound striking operation is also made smooth. Further, the presentinvention can also be applied to a jumping-up style musical instrumentwith the conventional structure.

Moreover, a keyboard musical instrument in accordance with anotherinvention has a keyboard body having a keyboard portion in one end andis held at the middle part in the longitudinal direction to be madeswingable; a hammer body having a hammer portion for striking that ispivotally fixed at its base in the opposite side of the keyboard portionacross the swinging central point of the keyboard body; and anescapement member always biased toward the hammer body, and is providedwith a projecting piece in the opposite side of the hammer portionacross the pivotal fulcrum of the hammer body; and is provided with anengaging stepped portion for engaging the projecting piece mounted inthe escapement member, and the keyboard musical instrument is furtherconfigured such that the projecting piece of the hammer body and theengaging stepped portion of the escapement member are engaged and thehammer body performs a striking pivotal operation against the soundsource body when the pivotal fulcrum of the hammer body pivots in thestriking direction by a key striking operation of the keyboard portion,and the escapement member is disposed in the keyboard portion side withrespect to the pivotal fulcrum that fixed the hammer body and thekeyboard portion.

In accordance with this invention, since either of the hammer body orthe escapement member is disposed in the keyboard portion side withrespect to the striking point of the hammer portion of the hammer body,the hammer body and the escapement member never project to the oppositeside with respect to the keyboard portion. Therefore, the depth of theentire keyboard musical instrument can be designed small byappropriately employing the configuration of the present invention inaccordance with the arrangement of a sound source body such as a string.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a side view illustrating an action mechanism used in akeyboard musical instrument of a first embodiment of the presentinvention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view illustrating a keyboard body and a hammerbody in the action mechanism of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a side view illustrating a main part of the action mechanismof FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is a side view illustrating the state immediately before strikinga string in the action mechanism of FIG. 1.

FIG. 5 is a side view illustrating the state at the time of striking astring in the action mechanism of FIG. 1.

FIG. 6 is a side view illustrating the state in which the hammer body isstopped by a control member after striking the string in the actionmechanism of FIG. 1.

FIG. 7 illustrates a second embodiment of the present invention and is aside view illustrating a main part of a modified portion of the actionmechanism of the first embodiment.

FIG. 8 is a side view illustrating an action mechanism used in akeyboard musical instrument of a third embodiment of the presentinvention.

FIG. 9 is a plan view illustrating a keyboard musical instrumentemploying the respective action mechanisms of the first through thethird embodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a side view illustrating an action mechanism used in akeyboard musical instrument of a fourth embodiment of the presentinvention.

FIG. 11 is a plan view illustrating examples of two kinds of keyboardmusical instruments employing the action mechanism of FIG. 10.

FIG. 12 is a side view illustrating an action mechanism used in akeyboard musical instrument of a fifth embodiment of the presentinvention.

FIG. 13 is an enlarged perspective view of a hammer portion of a hammerbody and a part of a sound source body of the action mechanism of FIG.12.

FIG. 14 is a view from the back of the hammer portion illustrating thehammer portion of the hammer body and the part of the sound source bodyof FIG. 12 overlapping each other.

FIG. 15 is side view illustrating an action mechanism used in a keyboardmusical instrument of a sixth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 16 is a plan view illustrating the state in which a member disposedover a keyboard body as well as a hammer body and an escapement memberin the action mechanism of FIG. 15 are taken away.

FIG. 17 is a perspective view of a fixed control portion in the actionmechanism of FIG. 15.

FIG. 18 is a plan view illustrating an example of a rubber memberattached on the top end of the fixed control portion in the actionmechanism of FIG. 15.

FIG. 19 is a side view illustrating the state immediately after startingkey striking in the action mechanism of FIG. 15.

FIG. 20 is a side view showing the state immediately after striking astring in the action mechanism of FIG. 15.

FIG. 21 is a side view illustrating the state in which a moving-overportion for repeated striking of the hammer body has moved over amounting portion after finishing string striking in the action mechanismof FIG. 15.

FIG. 22 is a side view illustrating the state immediately before themoving-over portion for repeated striking of the hammer body comes offfrom the mounting portion after finishing string striking in the actionmechanism of FIG. 15.

FIG. 23 is a side view illustrating the state immediately after themoving-over portion for repeated striking of the hammer body has comeoff from the mounting portion after finishing string striking in theaction mechanism of FIG. 15.

FIG. 24 is a view illustrating the moving track of the top end of themoving-over portion for repeated striking of the hammer body in theaction mechanism of FIG. 15.

FIG. 25 is a plan view illustrating an example of a modification of thekeyboard body.

FIG. 26 is a plan view illustrating another example of a modification ofthe keyboard body.

FIG. 27 is a perspective view illustrating various kinds of examples ofthe top end of the hammer portion.

FIG. 28 illustrates examples for attaching rubber to the top end of thehammer portion, in which (A) is a perspective view illustrating thestate in which rubber is attached to the top end of the hammer portion;(B) is a view illustrating rubber to be attached to the top end of thehammer portion; and (C) is a perspective view of the top end of thehammer portion.

FIG. 29 is a view showing an example of a modification of the hammerbody.

FIG. 30 illustrates various kinds of examples of each engaging part of abeak-like projecting piece of the hammer body and an engaging steppedportion of the escapement member.

FIG. 31 is a side view illustrating an action mechanism used in aconventional jumping-up keyboard musical instrument and its operation ina stationary state immediately before starting key striking.

FIG. 32 is a side view illustrating the state immediately beforestarting string striking in the action mechanism of FIG. 31.

FIG. 33 is a side view showing the state at the time of striking astring in the action mechanism of FIG. 31.

FIG. 34 is a side view illustrating the state in which the force of thehammer body is reduced by a back-check after striking a string in theaction mechanism of FIG. 31.

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be hereinafterdescribed with reference to the figures. Further, a first embodiment ofthe present invention will be described first based on FIGS. 1 through6. As shown in FIG. 1, an action mechanism 1 of a keyboard musicalinstrument in accordance with the first embodiment of the presentinvention consists of a keyboard body 5 having a keyboard portion 3 inits right side (in the figure), a hammer body 9 for striking a string 7that is a sound source body, and an escapement member 11 for controllingthe striking pivotal operation of the hammer body 9.

In FIG. 1, the middle part in the longitudinal direction of the keyboardbody 5 having the keyboard portion 3 at its right side end (in thefigure) is swingably held by a pin 13 on the upper surface of a pedestal15. A hole 5 a is made in the opposite side of the keyboard body 5across a swinging fulcrum (the position of the pin 13 that is also aholding point) as shown in FIG. 2.

The hammer body 9 has a hammer portion 17 that should strike the string7 (see FIG. 1) at its top end. A hole 9 a is made in the base of thehammer body 9, and a beak-like projecting piece 19 to be a projectingpiece is protrudingly provided in the opposite side of the hammerportion 17 across the hole 9 a. In addition, a pushing-out protrusion 21that is a pushing-out member in the present invention is protrudinglyprovided in the upper side with respect to the beak-like projectingpiece 19.

As shown in FIG. 2, the keyboard body 5 and the hammer body 9 arerelatively and pivotally fixed by inserting into the hole 5 a of thekeyboard body 5 and the hole 9 a of the hammer body 9 through a washer26, and tightening a screw union 23 having a female screw inside and ascrew union 24 having a male screw on the circumference. Further, theinner diameter of the hole 9 a of the hammer body 9 is slightly largerthan the outer diameter of the screw union 23 in the female side (outerside), hence, the hole 9 a is made rotatable with respect to the screwunion 23 in the female side. A key lead 20 for adjusting the weightbalance of the keyboard body 5 is provided on the side surface of thekeyboard body 5. An appropriate number of key leads 20 are inserted inholes made in the keyboard body 5, and are fixed by beating from bothsides in the compressing direction to enlarge the diameters. Further,the screw union 23 is made a pivotal fulcrum of the hammer body 9.

As shown in FIG. 3, the escapement member 11 is protrudingly providedwith an engaging stepped portion 31 in the central inside of a backportion piece 29, and a control member 33 in the upper end of the backportion piece 29 respectively. In addition, cushions 35 and 36 made ofcloth or felt are respectively stuck to the lower surface of the controlmember 33 and the upper side of the engaging stepped portion 31 (in thefigure). Moreover, a sliding member 37 made of an uncut leather is stuckto the lower surface and the protruding surface of the engaging steppedportion 31 and the front surface of the cushion 36, which forms a returnsliding surface 39 connecting the upper side (in the figure), withrespect to the engaging stepped portion 31 of the back portion piece 29,and the right side top of the engaging stepped portion 31 (in thefigure).

A groove 41 is provided in the lower end of the escapement member 11,and the top end of a spring plate 43 made of carbon fiber is inserted inand is adhered to the groove 41. The lower end of the spring plate 43 isfixed to a machine base 49 by a screw 47 via a stopping plate 45. Inthis way, the escapement member 11 is always biased toward the base ofthe hammer body 9 by the elasticity of the spring plate 43.

On the machine base 49, cushions 53 and 55 made of cloth arerespectively laid in the position opposing the hammer portion 17 and thebase (the position of the screw union 23) of the hammer body 9 as shownin FIG. 1.

Operations of the action mechanism 1 used in the keyboard musicalinstrument of the first embodiment will now be described. In FIG. 1,when a performer strikes keys of the keyboard portion 3, the keyboardbody 5 pivots clockwise (in FIG. 1) around the pin 13 and the pedestal15, and the pivot portion (the position of the screw union 23 and therotational fulcrum of the hammer body 9) rises toward the strikingdirection, i.e., toward the string 7 side. With this rising, thebeak-like projecting piece 19 of the hammer body 9 engages with theengaging stepped portion 31 of the escapement member 11.

When the performer further depresses the keyboard portion 3, as shown inFIG. 4, the pivot portion (the position of the screw union 23) of thehammer body 9 further rises toward the string 7. On the other hand,since the shift of the beak-like projecting piece 19 is prevented by theengaging stepped portion 31, the hammer portion 17 side of the hammerbody 9 pivots to perform a striking pivot operation against the string7. At this time, the pushing-out protrusion 21 of the hammer body 9gradually pushes out the escapement member 11 to its back side (the leftside in FIG. 4) against the elasticity of the spring plate 43 whilecontacting the return sliding surface 39 of the escapement member 11.

Then, the hammer portion 17 of the hammer body 9 strikes the string 7.Immediately before striking, the escapement member 11 is pushed outcompletely to its back side against the elasticity of the spring plate43 by the pushing-out protrusion 21 of the hammer body 9, which let offthe beak-like projecting piece 19 of the hammer body 9 from the lowersurface of the engaging stepped portion 31. As shown in FIG. 5, when thehammer portion 17 of the hammer body 9 strikes, the beak-like projectingpiece 19 is positioned more upward than the lower surface of theengaging stepped portion 31 of the escapement member 11 (in the figure).Therefore, when the escapement member 11 is returned from its retreatedposition by the elasticity of the spring plate 43, the beak-likeprojecting piece 19 let off from the engaging stepped portion 31 abutsthe return sliding surface 39 that is above the lower surface of theengaging stepped portion 31.

Then, after the beak-like projecting piece 19 of the hammer body 9 islet off from the lower surface of the engaging stepped portion 31, thehammer body 9 continues the rotational motion by inertia, and the hammerportion 17 strikes the string 7. Meanwhile, the keyboard portion 3 isdepressed by the performer (see FIG. 5). The hammer portion 17 afterstriking the string 7 is forced back to the lower side (in the figure)by the repulsion of the string 7, which makes the hammer body 9 rotatecounter clockwise (clockwise in the figure).

Here, the control member 33 of the escapement member 11 abuts the uppersurface of the base end of the hammer body 9, which stops the hammerbody 9 at the position where the hammer portion 17 is separated from thestring 7 (FIG. 6). That is, the lower surface of the control member 33adheres to the upper surface of the base end of the hammer body 9 by thepressing-down force of the keyboard portion 3 and the control of thecontrol member 33 and is prevented from pivoting clockwise (in thefigure) of the hammer body 9, and at the same time, is also preventedfrom pivoting counter clockwise (in the figure) of the hammer body 9 bythe repulsion of the collision of the lower surface of this controlmember 33 and the hammer body 9. In this way, since the pivoting of thehammer portion 17 is stopped by the control member 33, the hammer body 9does not strike the string 7 again by rebounding.

Finally, when the performer releases the keyboard portion 3, theopposite side end of the keyboard body 5 falls while the keyboardportion 3 rises, which causes the beak-like projecting piece 19 to slidealong the return sliding surface 39 and to return to under the engagingstepped portion 31. On the other hand, the hammer body 9 is thenreleased from the control by the control member 33, drops to the cushion55 due to it own weight, and returns to the state shown in FIG. 1.

In this way, in the first embodiment of the present invention, since thepushing-out protrusion 21 is provided in the base end of the hammer body9, which is to be a pushing-out member for letting off the beak-likeprojecting piece 19 of the hammer body 9 from the engaging steppedportion 31 by pushing out the escapement member 11 to the opposite sidewith respect to the hammer body 9 with the striking pivotal operation ofthe hammer body 9, the beak-like projecting piece 19 of the hammer body9 can be forced to be let off from the engaging stepped portion 31 ofthe escapement member 11. Therefore, since a member such as thesupporting pole 375 for increasing a shifting component in thehorizontal direction (the direction toward keyboard portion) of thebeak-like projecting piece 379 as required in conventional examples isunnecessary or can be made small, the length of the keyboard body 5 canbe designed short, the height of the action mechanism 1 can be designedextremely low and the depth extremely shallow.

In addition, in the first embodiment, since the control member 33 isintegrally formed in the escapement member 11 for separably opposing thehammer body 9 in the striking direction and separating the hammer body 9from the string 7 to stop in the state in which the beak-like projectingpiece 19 is separated from the engaging stepped portion 31, theback-check 389 as required in the conventional examples becomeunnecessary and the number of components and the number of assemblysteps can be reduced. In addition, since the bulky back-check 389becomes unnecessary, the height of the action mechanism 1 portion can bemade low.

Further, the first embodiment has the configuration in which thepushing-out protrusion 21 to be a pushing out member is provided in thebase end of the hammer body 9, however, a pushing-out member inaccordance with the present invention may be provided in the escapementmember 11 side instead of the hammer body 9 side.

Moreover, as in a second embodiment of the present invention shown inFIG. 7, another configuration may be employed in which an adjustmentscrew 57 is attached to an escapement member 11 in the manner theadjustment screw 57 can protrude and move backward by the rotationaloperation of the escapement member 11, which adjusts the space betweenthe escapement member 11 and the cushion 61 provided in the hammer body9 side. In this case, there is an advantage that a beak-like projectingpiece 19 of the hammer body 9 can be forced to be let off from anengaging stepped portion 31 of the escapement member 11 by the abutmentof a head 59 of the adjustment screw 57 and the cushion 61 provided inthe hammer body 9 side. In addition, there is another advantage that thetiming for letting off the beak-like projecting piece 19 and theengaging stepped portion 31 can be adjusted exactly by rotating theadjustment screw 57 utilizing a flat gripping portion 58 to protrude ormove backward.

A third embodiment of the present invention will now be described withreference to FIG. 8. In an action mechanism 63 of the third embodiment,an escapement member 65 is disposed in a keyboard portion 3 side viewfrom a screw union 69 (an illustration of the other screw union isomitted) used for pivotally fixing a hammer body 67. Further, since aconfiguration of other parts of the action mechanism 63 of the thirdembodiment is the same as that of the action mechanism 1 of the firstembodiment, its description is omitted.

In accordance with this action mechanism 63, since both the hammer body67 and the escapement member 65 are disposed in the keyboard portion 3side with respect to a striking point of a hammer portion 71 of thehammer body 67, the hammer body 67 and the escapement member 65 does notprotrude to the opposite side of the keyboard portion 3 with respect tothe striking point of the hammer portion 71. Therefore, as shown in FIG.9, in the case of a keyboard musical instrument 97 whose keyboard bodies5 are serially getting longer from a bass part to a treble part, thereis an advantage that the depth of the entire keyboard musical instrument97 can be designed small by applying, for example, the action mechanism1 of the first embodiment to keyboards in a bass range (B in the figure)and the action mechanism 63 of the third embodiment to keyboard in atreble range (C in the figure) respectively, depending on thearrangement of strings 7.

A fourth embodiment of the present invention will now be described. Asshown in FIG. 10, an action mechanism 101 in a keyboard musicalinstrument of the fourth embodiment has an escapement member 111disposed on the a keyboard portion 103 side with respect to a screwunion 123 (an illustration of the other screw union is omitted) forpivotally attaching a hammer body 109, and has something in common withthe third embodiment in this regard. However, the action mechanism 101is made smaller and made to enable a playing state as in playing anaccordion, i.e., to enable a standing play.

The hammer body 109 in the fourth embodiment has an arm portion 110formed relatively short, and a beak-like projecting piece 119 to be aprojecting piece and an operation block 112 to be a pushing-out memberprojecting toward the upper side (a string 7 side) with respect to anextended line of the arm portion 110 respectively formed in its base end(its right end in FIG. 10). On the other hand, an escapement member 111is provided with a recessed portion and has an engaging stepped portion131 formed below the recessed portion and a control member 133 formed inthe inside upper part of the recessed part respectively, and screws anadjustment screw 130 in a back portion piece 129 of the escapementmember 111. The lower end of the escapement member 111 is swingablyfixed to a mounting base 142 by a shaft 143 and, at the same time, acoil spring 141 is mounted in a keyboard portion 103 side (the rightside in FIG. 10) of the escapement member 111, which always biases theescapement member 111 toward the base end of the hammer body 109. On theother hand, a coil spring 106 is mounted on the upper surface of thekeyboard body 105, which always biases the keyboard body 105 downward.

In addition, although the hammer body 109 is relatively and pivotallyattached to the keyboard body 105 by a screw union 123, preferably, athrust bearing (not shown) is mounted between the hammer body 109 andthe keyboard body 105 instead of the washer 26 shown in FIG. 2, for thepurpose of reducing sliding friction between them.

Frames 144 and 145 are provided on a machine base 149, a resonance plate146 is mounted in the upper end of these frames 144 and 145, and abridge 147 of a triangular prism shape is fixed in substantially thecenter of the resonance plate 146. These machine base 149, the frames144 and 145, and the resonance plate 146 form a resonance box 148. Inaddition, a tuning pin 151 for fixing one end of a string 7 as well asadjusting the stretching condition of the string 7, and a trapezoidbridge 152 are fixed in a fixed portion similar to that disposed abovethe machine base 149.

The string 7 may be stretched toward the left backend viewed from thefront side (in the figure) (a performer side), as in a keyboard musicalinstrument 161 shown in FIG. 11(A), or may be stretched toward the rightbackend viewed from the performer side as in a keyboard musicalinstrument 162 shown in FIG. 11(B). Further, both the keyboard musicalinstruments 161 and 162 show an example in which the lengths of thekeyboard bodies 105 are identical. In addition, the action mechanism 1and the action mechanism 63 may be applied to the keyboard musicalinstruments 161 and 162.

Since the action mechanism 101 of the fourth embodiment has theoperation block 112 to be a pushing-out member that protrudes toward theupper side (the string 7 side) with respect to an extended line of thearm portion 110 of the hammer body 109, even in a case the keyboardportion 105 and the arm portion 110 of the hammer body 109 are formedshort, the escapement member 111 is not made small but can be designedin a sufficient size to perform an accurate operation, and further canhave durability.

Moreover, since the mounting position of the screw union 123 can bedesigned lower in respect to the operation block 112, the entirekeyboard musical instrument can be designed flat. In addition, in thisembodiment, since the coil spring 141 is mounted under the escapementmember 111 and the escapement member 111 is always biased toward thebase end of the hammer body 109, it is not likely for the hammer body109 to hit the string 7 inadvertently even if the keyboard musicalinstruments 161 and 162 are held with the bass range side (the left sidein FIGS. 11(A) and (B)) at the top. In addition, since the thrustbearing is mounted between the hammer body 109 and the keyboard body105, there is only a small friction between them. Moreover, since thekeyboard body 105 is always biased downward by the coil spring 106, thekeyboard portion 103 never rises. Therefore, a performer can play such akeyboard musical instrument by standing or sitting in a performing statesuch as in playing an accordion.

A keyboard musical instrument of a fifth embodiment of the presentinvention will now be described based on FIGS. 12 through 14. Theappearance of the keyboard musical instrument is a shape of an uprightpiano with an upper part of a keyboard taken off to be made smaller, butother appearances may be adopted. For example, an appearance identicalwith or similar to the keyboard musical instruments 97, 161 and 162 maybe adopted. In this way, since various appearances can be selected andadopted, only an action mechanism 171 part in a keyboard musicalinstrument will hereinafter be described.

Since this action mechanism 171 has basically the same structure as thatof the action mechanism 101, the same symbols are given to the samemembers and descriptions on the same members are omitted, and only thedifferent main parts will be illustrated and described.

The action mechanism 171 has the escapement member 111 completelyidentical with that of the action mechanism 101, but has a hammer body172 engaging the escapement member 111 different from the hammer body109 of the action mechanism 101, and at the same time is different fromthe action mechanism 101 in that a sound generating body is a metalplate 173 disposed vertically instead of the string 7.

In the action mechanism 171, a cushion material 175 made of felt towhich the lower end of a hammer portion 174 of the hammer body 172 abutsis disposed in the opposite side end of the keyboard portion 103 of thekeyboard body 105. In addition, a striking sound generating portion 176contacting the metal plate 173 provided in the top end of the hammerportion 174 such that the striking sound portion 176 is perpendicular tothe metal plate 173 when striking sounds are generated. Further, the topend of the striking sound generating portion 176 is formed as a circularcurved surface 177 as shown in FIG. 12, and striking sound generatingportion of other shapes are made to be appropriately attachable to thehammer portion 174. The metal plate 173 is held by hanged supportingmembers 179 that are inserted and held in openings 178 in the upper andlower end sides of the metal plate 173.

In addition, the striking sound generating portion 176 may be stuck inan appropriate position by shifting the mounting position of thestriking sound generating portion 176 as indicated by an arrow Y of FIG.14. Further, in FIG. 14 although the metal plate 173 is hangedvertically, even if the metal plate 173 is disposed inclining, thestriking sound generating portion 176 can be stuck inclinedcorrespondingly. The configuration for sticking the striking soundgenerating portion 176 and enabling it to shift, can be also applied tothe aforementioned first through fourth embodiments.

Under the keyboard portion 103, a pedestal 180 fixed on a machine base149, a keyboard position regulating bar 181 having an oval-shaped crosssection fixed on the pedestal 180, and a cushion portion 182 made offelt material and the like of disk-shape mounted on the pedestal 180 areprovided. The keyboard position regulating bar 181 performs positionalregulation in the latitudinal direction of the keyboard body 105 byentering a screw slot like groove 183 provided in the keyboard body 105.Further, the groove 183 is blocked by the keyboard portion 103 at itstop end.

A semi-spherical shaped supporting portion 184 is provided on thepedestal 15, in the manner of crossing the keyboard body 103, in orderto ease the swing of the keyboard body 103. Further, it is preferable tomount a cushion material made of felt and the like on this supportingportion 184. The pin 13 having the circular cross section is a holeprovided in the keyboard body 105, and is configured to enter afan-shaped hole 185 having longer longitudinal length toward the upperpart and to be made swingable around the abutting part of the keyboardbody 105 and the supporting portion 184 as a fulcrum.

One end side of the coil spring 106 enters a cavity 187 provided in afixed portion 186 fixed on the machine base 149 and the other end abutsthe keyboard body 105. The biasing force of the coil spring 106 is madeto be adjusted by the adjustment screw 188. A cushion member 189 made offelt and the like is stuck and fixed on the fixed portion 186, whichfunctions as a cushion when the back portion piece 129 of the escapementmember 111 knocks against the fixed portion 186.

A sixth embodiment of the present invention will now be described. Onlyan action mechanism 201 will be described as well concerning thisembodiment. The action mechanism 201 is considerably different from thatof other embodiments in that a control member is formed in a fixedportion that is integral with the machine base 49, 149 whereas thepreviously shown control members 33 are 133 are integrally formed in theescapement members 11, 65 and 111. Further, since most of the otherparts have the similar configurations as the action mechanism 101 of thefourth embodiment and the action mechanism 171 of the fifth embodiment,the same symbols are given to the same members and their descriptionsare omitted or simplified.

The hammer body 202 has, other than the beak-like projecting piece 119to be a projecting piece and the operation block 112 to be a pushing-outmember, a hammer portion 203 for striking the string 7, a rear abuttingportion 204 for contacting and separating from the cushion material 175,and a moving-over portion for repeated striking 205 mounted on the rearend (the left side in FIG. 15) of the operation block 112.

The escapement member 207 has a similar configuration as that of theescapement member 111 of the fourth and the fifth embodiment, but isdifferent in that it does not have the control member 133. In thisaction mechanism 201, a fixing control portion 208 to be a controlmember is fixed to the fixed portion 186. In this fixing control portion208, a cushion portion 209 made of felt and the like is provided in apart to which the upper surface of the operation block 112 of the hammerbody 202 abuts. In addition, a rubber member 210 is attached to the rearend of the fixing control portion 208 by a bolt 212 and a nut 213 via aninserted member 211.

The pin 221 fixed on the pedestal 15 at it lower end is fixed at bothends by its upper end entering an upper side of the supporting portion222 having the same shape as the supporting portion 184. The performer'sside top end of the keyboard body 105 is a screw slot portion 223, andits opening portions in the upper side and the top end side and areblocked by the keyboard portion 103. In the rear end (the left end inFIG. 15) of the keyboard body 105, a spring abutting portion 224 withits upper side cut off is provided, and a coil spring 225 is disposedsuch that its one end abuts this spring abutting portion 224.

The other end of the coil spring 225 enters into and is held by asemi-spherical shaped cylinder portion 226 having a cavity inside. Thiscylinder portion 226 is formed integrally with an adjustment screw 228attached to a fixed portion 227 fixed on the machine base 149, and ismovable vertically by the pivoting of the adjustment screw 228.

One end of the coil spring 141 abutting the escapement member 207 entersthe escapement member 207, and the other end having the same shape asthe cylinder portion 226 enters into and is held by a cylinder portion229 fixed on the mounting base 142. In addition, the bottom part of thecylinder portion 229 is made a screw and is movable vertically bypivoting.

A third pedestal 231 is also mounted and fixed on the machine base 149other than the pedestals 15 and 180. A cushion member 232 is mounted andfixed on the pedestal 231 in the manner to cross the keyboard body 105.Further, the pedestal 180 is formed in a slope shape with the heightbeing low in its front side and getting higher toward the inner side. Onthe other hand, the pedestal 231 has a shape making a slope in thedirection opposite from that of the pedestal 180. That is, both thepedestals have a symmetrical shape with the supporting portion 184 asthe center.

A plan view of the state in which the fixed portion 186 and the like aredisposed above the keyboard body 105 and the escapement member 207 areremoved is shown in FIG. 16. FIG. 16 illustratively shows three tones ofC, D and E as well as semitone parts between the tones. As shown in FIG.16, the pins 221 to be swinging fulcrums of the keyboard bodies arearranged in two rows of an alternate arrangement due to the existence ofthe semitone parts, and the pins 181 of the keyboard portions 103 arealso arranged in two rows of an alternate arrangement. Further, theshapes of the respective keyboard bodies 105 are different except thatthe shapes of two semitone parts are the same. However, the basicconfiguration of each keyboard body is completely identical with theconfiguration shown in FIG. 15.

Further, in other embodiments as well, for the keyboard bodies in whichthe positions of respective hammer bodies are the same with respect tothe longitudinal direction, both the pins 13 and 221 to be the swingingfulcrums of the keyboard bodies and the pins 181 of the keyboardportions 3 and 103 are disposed in two rows of an alternate arrangement.

As shown in FIGS. 17 and 18(A), the rubber member 210 is comprised of asquare-shaped base portion 241, a through hole 242 in which the bolt 212is inserted, a rectangular mounting portion 243 over which themoving-over portion for repeated striking 205 moves, and a top endportion 244 having a top end protruding in a triangle shape. Further,the rubber member 210 may have a wider mounting portion 243 as shown byan alternate long and short dot line of FIG. 18(A), or may have atrapezoidal mounting portion 243 as shown in FIG. 18(B). Alternatively,the rubber member 210 may have an angular mounting portion having bothside portions formed of a recess-shaped curved line as shown by analternate long and short dot line of FIG. 18(B). In this way, elasticity(bend) can be adjusted. In addition, the rubber member 210 isreplaceable and its protruding position can be adjusted.

Operations of the action mechanism 201 used in the keyboard musicalinstrument of this sixth embodiment will now be described based on FIGS.15 through 19 and 24. Further, FIGS. 19 through 23 illustrate only theparts necessary for the description of operations.

In FIG. 15, when a performer strikes a key of the keyboard portion 103,the keyboard body 105 starts to pivot in the clockwise direction (inFIG. 15) with the pin 221 and the supporting portion 184 as a center. Atthis time, the screw union 123 to be a rotational center of the hammerbody 202 rises in the key striking direction, that is, in the directionof the string 7 side. By this rising, the beak-like engaging piece 119of the hammer body 202 engages the lower surface of the engaging portion131 of the escapement member 207.

When the keyboard portion 103 is further depressed, since the shift ofthe beak-like projecting piece 119 is prevented by the engaging steppedportion 131, the hammer portion 203 side of the hammer body 202 furtherpivots to the string 7 side. At this time, the operation block 112 to bea pushing-out member of the hammer body 202 gradually pushing out theescapement member 207 to its back side (the right side in FIG. 15)against the elasticity (biasing force) of the coil spring 141.

At this time, as shown in FIG. 19, the moving-over portion for repeatedstriking 205 passes without colliding with the tongue piece likemounting portion 243 of the rubber member 210 fixed in the fixingcontrol portion 208. Then, the hammer portion 203 of the hammer body 202strikes the string 7, immediately before which the escapement member 207is completely pushed out to the back portion side by the operation block112 of the hammer body 202 against the elasticity of the coil spring141. As a result, the beak-like projecting piece 119 of the hammer body202 is let off from the lower surface of the engaging stepped portion131.

Thereafter, the hammer portion 203 of the hammer body 202 strikes thestring 7 by the clockwise pivoting of the entire keyboard body 105 (thehammer portion 203 rises) while continuing the rotational operation byinertia. After striking the string 7, the hammer portion 203 is forcedback to the lower side (in each figure) by the repulsion of the string7. As a result, the hammer body 202 rotates in the opposite direction.

Further, at the time of striking, the beak-like projecting piece 119 ofthe hammer portion 203 of the hammer body 202 is positioned higher (inthe figure) than the lower surface of the engaging stepped portion 131of the escapement member 207. Therefore, when the escapement member 207returns from its retreated position by elasticity of the coil spring141, the beak-like projecting piece 119 abuts the return sliding surfacewhich is higher than the lower surface of the engaging stepped portion131 (see FIG. 20).

In this state after striking, the moving-over portion for repeatedstriking 205 starts to move over the mounting portion 243 of the rubbermember 210. This is because rotation of the hammer body 202 takes placewith the screw union 123 portion that is shifted upward as a centerafter striking, that is, after the engaging stepped portion 131 is letoff. For ease of understanding of this operation, the track of the topend of the moving-over portion for repeated striking 205 is shown inFIG. 24. Further, a letter S shaped bend in the return stroke in thetrack shown in FIG. 24 is caused by the mounting portion 243 bending,after the moving over portion for repeated striking 205 moves over themounting portion 243.

When this moving-over takes place, the upper face of the base end of thehammer body 202 abuts the cushion portion 209 of the fixing controlportion 208, by which the hammer body 202 is stopped, in the state inwhich the hammer portion 203 is separated from the string 7 (see FIG.21). That is, the upper surface of the operation block 112 of the hammerbody 202 sticks to the lower surface of the cushion portion 209 by thepivoting force in the clockwise direction from the keyboard portion 103and the position preserving force of the fixing control portion 208, andpivoting in the counter clockwise direction (in the figure) of thehammer body 202 is prevented, and pivoting in the clockwise direction(in the figure) of the hammer body 202 based on the repulsion at thetime of collision of the cushion portion 209, and the hammer body 202 isalso prevented. In this way, since the pivoting of the hammer body 202is stopped by the fixing control portion 208, the hammer body 202 doesnot rebound to strike the string 7 again.

Thereafter, when the keyboard portion 103 is raised, the mountingportion 243 continues to support moving-over portion for repeatedstriking 205 while bending (see FIG. 22). When the moving-over portionfor repeated striking 205 is about to come off from the mounting portion243, the beak-like projecting piece 119 is about to enter under thelower surface of the engaging stepped portion 131. The beak-likeprojecting piece 119 returns to the engagement with the lower surface ofthe engaging stepped portion 131 utilizing the elasticity of the coilspring 141 simultaneously with or immediately before the moving-overportion for repeated striking 205 coming off from the mounting portion243.

The state in which the beak-like projecting piece 119 starts to returnto the lower surface of this engaging stepped portion 131 is shown inFIG. 23. The state immediately before the beak-like projecting piece 119is about to completely engage or has completely engaged the lowersurface of the engaging portion 131 arises before the keyboard body 105returns to the original state as shown in FIG. 23. Therefore, thekeyboard portion 103 can be depressed to strike the string again, beforethe state in which the keyboard portion 103 rises to the highest, i.e.,the state before key striking shown in FIG. 5. That is, a repetitionthat is a faster repeated striking becomes possible. To show an exampleof concrete numerical values, if the possible amount of depressing thekeyboard portion 103 is 8 mm, a key striking operation is possible againat the time when the keyboard portion 103 returns by 4.5 mm from thedepressing completed point.

Further, although each of the above-mentioned embodiments is an exampleof a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the presentinvention is not limited to these embodiments, but may be modified invarious ways within the scope not departing from the spirit of thepresent invention. For example, as shown in FIG. 25, in the keyboardbodies 5 and 105, the screw union 23 (123) may be disposed such that thescrew union 23 (123) protrudes in the side surface side forming one flatsurface in the longitudinal direction. Further, these keyboard bodies 5and 105 has the width W1 of approximately 10 mm. This width W1 isidentical with the width of the keyboard portion 103 in the semitonepart, and is the standard in the latitudinal direction of the keyboardbodies 5 and 105.

The structure of the keyboard body may be the one shown in FIG. 26. Thekeyboard body 251 shown in FIG. 26 is preferably applied to a keyboardmusical instrument using a general sized keyboard. In this keyboard body251, a part corresponding to the screw union 23 (123) is a bridge-likerotational central portion 252 that is laid between and suspends two topend portions 253 forming a fork-like structure. In this keyboard body251, a hammer body and an escapement member are disposed between boththe top end portions 253, and the hammer body is pivotally attached tothe rotational central portion 252.

The material of the hammer bodies 9, 67, 109, 172 and 202 is preferablywood, but may be other materials such as synthetic resin. In addition,the top end of the hammer portion (the hammer portion 17 is shown as atypical example) of each hammer body (the hammer body 9 is shown as atypical example) may be the same material as that of the hammer body asshown in FIG. 27(A), i.e., the same material as the one used in thefirst embodiment, but when the quality of sound is desired to beadjusted, a top end portion 254 made of leather or felt may be stuck andfixed as shown in FIG. 27(B). In addition, the top end of the hammerportion of each hammer body may be a covering top end portion 255 thatcovers the both side surfaces of the top end as shown in FIG. 27(C).

Moreover, rubber 256 may be attached to the top end of the hammerportion of each hammer body as shown in FIG. 28. The rubber 256 iscylindrical and has one slit 257 on its side surface as shown in FIG.28(B). A notched recessed portion 258 is provided in both sides of thetop end of the hammer body 17 such that the rubber 256 does not slipout. Then, when the rubber 256 is attached to the top end of the hammerbody 17 by opening the slit 257, the state shown in FIG. 28(A) isattained.

Devices of the top end shape of the hammer body or of attaching memberssuch as leather, felt, rubber and the like on the top end portion can besimilarly applied to the parts of the engaging stepped portions 31 and131 where the beak-like projecting pieces 19 and 119 abut. As the shapeof the hammer body 172, the hammer portion 174 is made longer and aspace S is provided between the hammer portion 174 and the operationblock 112, as shown in FIG. 29, such that other parts such as a fixedportion may be disposed in this space S.

Moreover, the shapes of the beak-like projecting pieces 19 and 119 andthe engaging stepped portions 31 and 131 may be modified respectively asshown in each drawing of FIG. 30. Further, the shapes of the beak-likeprojecting piece 119 and the engaging stepped portion 131 are shown asexamples in each drawing.

FIG. 30(A) shows a structure in which the top end of the beak-likeprojecting piece 119 is made triangle and the engaging stepped portion131 is made step-like, both of which are clearly shown by drawing theirappearance with straight lines. FIG. 30(B) shows a structure in which acurved surface portion 261 that is the underside of the beak-likeprojecting piece 119 forming a convex curved line, and on the otherhand, the engaging stepped portion 131 forms an acute angle at the topend portion of FIG. 30(A), and the return sliding surface 39 to be stuckto its surface also made a triangle portion 262 in accordance with theshape.

FIG. 30(C) shows a structure in which the beak-like projecting piece 119has the same shape as that of FIG. 30(B) and the engaging steppedportion 131 is made beak-like. In addition, FIG. 30(D) shows a structurewhich is different from that of FIG. 30(C), in that the lower surface ofthe beak-like engaging stepped portion 131 is formed more rounder and around portion 253 is provided.

Due to the variation of the shapes as shown in FIGS. 30(A) through (D),feeling of play (touch) and the motion of the hammer body (mainly returncondition of the hammer body after striking a string) changes.Preferably, these shapes are appropriately modified in accordance withpurposes of use, structures of other parts and the like.

Further, the cushion material 175 in the rear upper part of the keyboardbody 105 disposed in the action mechanisms 171 and 201 of the fifth andthe sixth embodiments, is for easily transmitting the motion of thekeyboard body 105 to the hammer bodies 172 and 202, at the same time,for erasing a return sound when the hammer bodies 172 and 202 return tothe original positions, and for helping them to return to the stationarystate, but the cushion material 175 may be applied to other embodiments.

In addition, in each of the above-mentioned embodiment, a keyboardmusical instrument is a portable one, but it may be a larger keyboardmusical instrument such as an electronic organ, an upright piano, and agrand piano.

Further, if a damper of a sound generating body is added to each actionmechanism in the keyboard musical instrument in each of theabove-mentioned embodiment, the method used in the conventional keyboardmusical instrument can be adopted without any change. In addition,although the keyboard musical instrument can operate even if the controlmember attached to the escapement member and the fixing control portionfixed on the machine base are removed, its motion is not stable andrepeated striking is difficult because the hammer body rebounds.However, the control member and the fixing control portion may beremoved for a toy, a musical instrument for infants and the like.

In addition, in this embodiment and modification examples, although thearrangement surfaces of the keyboard portions 3 and 103 and thearrangement surface of the string 7 are made parallel and the entirekeyboard musical instrument is formed in a flat shape, it is possible tohave a keyboard musical instrument of an upright piano type with thestring 7 arranged in the perpendicular surface direction with respect tothe keyboard portion 3 and 103 (the opposing surface with respect to aperformer) by making the hammer body in the present invention to be bentupward from the arm portion, that is, by having the same configurationas that of the fifth embodiment.

In addition, although the string 7 and the bar-like metal plate 173 areused as a sound generating body in each embodiment, sound generatingbodies other than these such as that made of glass or a bell may be usedas the sound generating body of the present invention. Further, variousknown conventional shapes and structures may be adopted for the hammerbodies 9, 67, 109, 172 and 202.

In addition, since the touch of performance in letting off the hammerbodies 9, 67, 109, 172 and 202 is exactly the same as that of a generalpiano in each action mechanism of the present invention, the presentinvention may be applied to a silent keyboard for practice use by usinga cushion instead of the sound generating body, and the presentinvention may be further applied to an electronic musical instrument byusing a sensor for an electronic musical instrument instead of the soundgenerating body, hence, these configurations belong to the category ofthe present invention. In addition, other elastic members such as arubber member or a metal Belleville spring may be used instead of thecoil springs 106, 141 and 255. Moreover, although the engaging steppedportions 31 and 131 are formed in a protruding shape in each embodiment,these may be formed in a recessed shape, and the upper inside surface ofthe recessed portion may be made to have the same function as the lowersurface of the engaging stepped portion 31 and 131.

Furthermore, most of the respective improvements of the presentinvention are not limited to the configuration in which the hammerbodies 9, 67, 109, 172 and 202 is directly attached to the keyboardbodies 5 and 105, but can be applied to the configuration in which thehammer body 377 is attached to the supporting pole 375 as in theconventional keyboard musical instrument.

Industrial Applicability

As described above, the keyboard musical instrument in accordance withthe present invention can be used as a keyboard musical instrument notonly in a usual concert of amateur performers but also in a concert ofprofessional performers because the tone is stable and the quality ofperformance is improved, even if it is the jumping-up style due to thedecreased dislocation of a striking sound generating point. In addition,since the action mechanism portion is small in terms of the height andthe depth, it can be easily manufactured as a portable keyboard musicalinstrument. Moreover, since standing play by holding it in hands and thelike are also possible even if it is the jumping-up style, a keyboardmusical instrument that is extremely easy to utilize without beingrestricted by a place of performance is provided.

What is claimed is:
 1. A keyboard musical instrument characterized inthat a middle part in the longitudinal direction of a keyboard bodyhaving a keyboard portion at its one end is swingably held and, at thesame time, a base of a hammer body for striking is pivotally attached tothe opposite side of said keyboard portion across the holding point ofsaid keyboard body; a beak-like projecting piece is protrudinglyprovided in a base end of said hammer body, and at the same time, anengaging stepped portion is formed in an escapement member that isalways biased toward said beak-like projecting piece of the hammer body;the pivotally attached portion of said hammer body pivots in accordancewith a key striking operation of said keyboard portion, and at the sametime, said beak-like projecting piece of said hammer body and saidengaging stepped portion of said escapement member engage; and saidhammer body performs a striking pivotal operation against a sound sourcebody, and that in at least one of said base end of said hammer body andsaid escapement member, a pushing-out member for pushing out saidescapement member to the opposite side with respect to said hammer bodyin accordance with the striking pivotal operation of said hammer body tolet off the beak-like piece of the hammer body from said engagingstepped portion, and at the same time, integrally forms in saidescapement member a control means contactably and separably opposingsaid hammer body in the striking direction that separates said hammerbody from said sound source body and stopping it in the state in whichsaid beak-like projecting piece is let off from said engaging steppedportion.
 2. A keyboard musical instrument characterized by comprising akeyboard body that has a keyboard portion in its one end portion and isheld at the middle part in the longitudinal direction to be madeswingable; a hammer body having a hammer portion for striking that ispivotally fixed at its base in the opposite side of said keyboardportion across the swinging central point of said keyboard body; and anescapement member always biased toward said hammer body, andcharacterized in that said keyboard musical instrument is provided witha projecting piece in the opposite side of said hammer portion acrossthe pivotal fulcrum of said hammer body; and an engaging stepped portionfor engaging said projecting piece that is mounted in said escapementmember, and that said keyboard musical instrument is further configuredsuch that said projecting piece of said hammer body and said engagingstepped portion of said escapement member are engaged and said hammerbody performs a striking pivotal operation against said sound sourcebody when the pivotal fulcrum of said hammer body pivots in the strikingdirection by a key striking operation of said keyboard portion, and atleast one of said hammer body and said escapement member is providedwith a pushing-out member for pushing out said escapement member to theopposite side with respect to said hammer body to separate saidprojecting piece of said hammer body from said engaging stepped portionin accordance with a striking pivotal movement of said hammer body.
 3. Akeyboard musical instrument characterized by comprising a keyboard bodythat has a keyboard portion in its one end portion and is held at themiddle part in the longitudinal direction to be made swingable; a hammerbody having a hammer portion for striking that is pivotally fixed at itsbase in the opposite side of said keyboard portion across the swingingcentral point of said keyboard body; and an escapement member alwaysbiased toward said hammer body, and characterized in that said keyboardmusical instrument is provided with a projecting piece in the oppositeside of said hammer portion across the pivotal fulcrum of said hammerbody; and an engaging stepped portion for engaging said projecting piecethat is mounted in said escapement member, and that said keyboardmusical instrument is further configured such that said projecting pieceof said hammer body and said engaging stepped portion of said escapementmember are engaged and said hammer body performs a striking pivotaloperation against said sound source body when the pivotal fulcrum ofsaid hammer body pivots in the striking direction by a key strikingoperation of said keyboard portion, and integrally forms in saidescapement member a control means separably opposing said hammer body inthe striking direction for separating said hammer body from said soundsource body and stopping it in the state in which said beak-likeprojecting piece is let off from said engaging stepped portion.
 4. Akeyboard musical instrument characterized by comprising a keyboard bodythat has a keyboard portion in its one end portion and is held at themiddle part in the longitudinal direction to be made swingable; a hammerbody having a hammer portion for striking that is pivotally fixed at itsbase in the opposite side of said keyboard portion across the swingingcentral point of said keyboard body; and an escapement member alwaysbiased toward said hammer body, and characterized in that said keyboardmusical instrument is provided with a projecting piece in the oppositeside of said hammer portion across the pivotal fulcrum of said hammerbody; and an engaging stepped portion for engaging said projecting piecethat is mounted in said escapement member, and that said keyboardmusical instrument is further configured such that said projecting pieceof said hammer body and said engaging stepped portion of said escapementmember are engaged and said hammer body performs a striking pivotaloperation against said sound source body when the pivotal fulcrum ofsaid hammer body pivots in the striking direction by a key strikingoperation of said keyboard portion, and a fixed member fixed in a basefor holding said keyboard body is provided with a control memberseparably opposing said hammer body in the striking direction, forabutting said base end, separating said hammer body from said soundsource body and stopping it in the state in which said projecting pieceis let off from the engaging stepped portion.
 5. A keyboard musicalinstrument characterized by comprising a keyboard body that has akeyboard portion in its one end portion and is held at the middle partin the longitudinal direction to be made swingable; a hammer body havinga hammer portion for striking that is pivotally fixed at its base in theopposite side of said keyboard portion across the swinging central pointof said keyboard body; and an escapement member always biased towardsaid hammer body, and characterized in that said keyboard musicalinstrument is provided with a projecting piece in the opposite side ofsaid hammer portion across the pivotal fulcrum of said hammer body; andan engaging stepped portion for engaging said projecting piece that ismounted in said escapement member, and that said keyboard musicalinstrument is further configured such that said projecting piece of saidhammer body and said engaging stepped portion of said escapement memberare engaged and said hammer body performs a striking pivotal operationagainst said sound source body when the pivotal fulcrum of said hammerbody pivots in the striking direction by a key striking operation ofsaid keyboard portion, and a pushing out member for pushing out saidescapement member to the opposite side with respect to said hammer bodyto separate said projecting piece of said hammer body from saidengagement portion, is formed in a shape projecting toward said soundsource side with respect to an extended line of said arm portion of saidhammer body.
 6. A keyboard musical instrument characterized bycomprising a keyboard body that has a keyboard portion in its one endportion and is held at the middle part in the longitudinal direction tobe made swingable; a hammer body having a hammer portion for strikingthat is pivotally fixed at its base in the opposite side of saidkeyboard portion across the swinging central point of said keyboardbody; and an escapement member always biased toward said hammer body,and characterized in that said keyboard musical instrument is providedwith a projecting piece in the opposite side of said hammer portionacross the pivotal fulcrum of said hammer body; and an engaging steppedportion for engaging said projecting piece that is mounted in saidescapement member, and that said keyboard musical instrument is furtherconfigured such that said projecting piece of said hammer body and saidengaging stepped portion of said escapement member are engaged and saidhammer body performs a striking pivotal operation against said soundsource body when the pivotal fulcrum of said hammer body pivots in thestriking direction by a key striking operation of said keyboard portion,and a recessed portion is provided in said sound source body directionside of said engaging stepped portion of said escapement member, anoperation block is provided as if getting into said recessed portion insaid sound source body direction side of said projection piece of saidhammer body, and an elastic member for always biasing said escapementmember toward said sound source body direction is provided in theopposite side of the said sound source body direction of said escapementmember.
 7. A keyboard musical instrument characterized by comprising akeyboard body that has a keyboard portion in its one end portion and isheld at the middle part in the longitudinal direction to be madeswingable; a hammer body having a hammer portion for striking that ispivotally fixed at its base in the opposite side of said keyboardportion across the swinging central point of said keyboard body; and anescapement member always biased toward said hammer body, andcharacterized in that said keyboard musical instrument is provided witha projecting piece in the opposite side of said hammer portion acrossthe pivotal fulcrum of said hammer body; and an engaging stepped portionfor engaging said projecting piece that is mounted in said escapementmember, and that said keyboard musical instrument is further configuredsuch that said projecting piece of said hammer body and said engagingstepped portion of said escapement member are engaged and said hammerbody performs a striking pivotal operation against said sound sourcebody when the pivotal fulcrum of said hammer body pivots in the strikingdirection by a key striking operation of said keyboard portion, and anelastic member for biasing said keyboard body to the opposite side withrespect to said sound source body direction is provided.
 8. A keyboardmusical instrument characterized by comprising a keyboard body that hasa keyboard portion in its one end portion and is held at the middle partin the longitudinal direction to be made swingable; a hammer body havinga hammer portion for striking that is pivotally fixed at its base in theopposite side of said keyboard portion across the swinging central pointof said keyboard body; and an escapement member always biased towardsaid hammer body, and characterized in that said keyboard musicalinstrument is provided with a projecting piece in the opposite side ofsaid hammer portion across the pivotal fulcrum of said hammer body; andan engaging stepped portion for engaging said projecting piece that ismounted in said escapement member, and that said keyboard musicalinstrument is further configured such that said projecting piece of saidhammer body and said engaging stepped portion of said escapement memberare engaged and said hammer body performs a striking pivotal operationagainst said sound source body when the pivotal fulcrum of said hammerbody pivots in the striking direction by a key striking operation ofsaid keyboard portion, and a structure for pivotally fixing said hammerbody is provided with holes in said keyboard body and said base of saidhammer body respectively, a screw union having a female screw inside isput in said holes, and screw union having a male screw is incorporatedfrom the surface opposite the surface on which said hammer body abutssaid keyboard body such that said screw union engages said female screw.9. A keyboard musical instrument characterized by comprising a keyboardbody that has a keyboard portion in its one end portion and is held atthe middle part in the longitudinal direction to be made swingable; ahammer body having a hammer portion for striking that is pivotally fixedat its base in the opposite side of said keyboard portion across theswinging central point of said keyboard body; and an escapement memberalways biased toward said hammer body, and characterized in that saidkeyboard musical instrument is provided with a projecting piece in theopposite side of said hammer portion across the pivotal fulcrum of saidhammer body; and an engaging stepped portion for engaging saidprojecting piece that is mounted in said escapement member, and thatsaid keyboard musical instrument is further configured such that saidprojecting piece of said hammer body and said engaging stepped portionof said escapement member are engaged and said hammer body performs astriking pivotal operation against said sound source body when thepivotal fulcrum of said hammer body pivots in the striking direction bya key striking operation of said keyboard portion, and said escapementmember is disposed in said keyboard portion side with respect to saidpivotal fulcrum that becomes the fixed portion of said hammer body andsaid keyboard portion.